The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-27
J!vil Service and Political Pledges.


There is one part OF the eloquent address
which Secretary Lamar delivered at Charles
ton Yesterday which will attract a great
deal of atteEtioG, ard, perhaps, excite some
comment. The part is that in which Mr.
Calhoun's belief in civil service reform and
his regard for pledges made to the people
arc pointed out
Mr.. Calhoun was not an advocate of the
spoils system He saw the great danger
of it, and, as he WINS patriot and a states
man. he opposed it. When he had the dis
posal of patronage, as the chief of one of
the great departments of the government,
he made no removals except for cause, and
he lost no opportunity to condemn the prac-
tice of using the Offices for political pur-
poses or for rewarding political OF personal
friends.
Those who think that pledges which par
ties or public men make should not be kept,
if it is not convenient to do so, should read
carefully that part of one of Mr.. Calhouns
speeches with regard to them which Mr.. La
mar quoted Mr. Calhoun was too great
and too good a man to play the part OF a
demagOgue. There were small but noisy
politicians in his day as well as at the pres
ent time, but they received no recognition
from him. Sincere and earnest, aiming al
ways to promote the welfare of the whole
country he had no sympathy with political
cunning, chicanery or deception of any sort,
A promise to the people was in his estimation
as sacred as a promise to personal friend,
and he would as soon have violated one as
the other
Mr. Lamar took occasion to say that the
only things for which the President has been
criticised and abused are those which had
the approval of Mr. Calhoun. The Presi-
dent is believer in civil service reform, and
has sincerely tried to enforce the civil SER
vice law. He has not desired to keep his po-
litical enemies in office nor wished to with
hold any rewards from political friends he
has realized, however, that the spoils sys-
TEN, besides filling the civil service with I'M
fit and incompetent men and women, threat
ems the country with very grave danger.
He may not be a very thorough student of
the political history of the country, and
may not know what Mr.. Calhoun's views
respecting the spoils system were but his
common sense tells him that it is a bad aud
dangerous system. He feels that he could
do the country no greater service than to 90
his part toward abolishing it. He under
stood, of course, when he announced his civil
service policy that he would be assailed, and
even ridiculed, by men in his own party,
and that it would require great courage to
carry it out. He felt equal to the task,
however, and the people applaud him for
what he has done
No one can say that he has not done his
part to keep faith with the people. When
the history of his administration is written
there will be no broken pledges to record
While he may not fill as large place in
history as Mr.. Calhoun does, he will be ad-
mired for some of the most distinguished
virtues which cause the memory of that
| great statesman to be honored
| Mr.. Lamar did wisely in pointing out that
| Mr.. Calhoun was an ardent civil service re-
former and that he regarded pledges made
to the people as sacred. Some of the Demo
cratic politicians who have been finding
| fault with the President on account of these
same things may be surprised to find that he
is acting in harmony with the teaching of
one of the greatest and purest of the leaders
of the Democratic party.